Aurora magazine

For years, scientists have been struggling to report the effects of alcohol in pregnancy. However, there is another reason not to drink as you expect a child. The effects of alcohol affect not only the fetus but also the brain development of future generations.

Kelly Huffman of the University of California had shown that alcohol in pregnancy affects the anatomy of the neocortex, the area responsible for the behavior. Changes can cause abnormal motor behavior and increase the risk of anxiety. The new study has shown that the effects of prenatal exposure to ethanol persist in later generations.

The research team has produced a guinea pig with fetal alcohol syndrome (FASD) and analyzed development. The cave exposed in utero to alcohol showed atypical gene expression and an abnormal cerebral development. Similar consequences were, however, also present in subsequent generations, not exposed to alcohol. Small guinea pigs affected by FASD were smaller, suffering from anxiety and depressive behaviors.

Alcohol consumption in pregnancy causes changes in the nervous system affecting the behavior of the subjects involved. Changes, however, seem to be inherited and therefore require more in-depth studies.

Source: ucr.edu

The greater or less presence of chromosomal abnormalities affects the success of the embryo implant in the IVF. The analysis is performed by the operators, which exposes it to a large number of variants. Professor José Celso Rocha therefore suggested introducing an automatic evaluation criterion.

According to the professor, one could start from the analysis of images of developing embryos to identify mathematical variables. This would allow you to process an algorithm that automatically classifies images to eliminate subjective variables. An automated process would improve the evaluation of the embryo and its development possibilities. This could offer targeted strategies to increase the plant's chances of success.

For the moment the process has been tested on animal models. The professor's team analyzed images of the development of 482 bovine embryos. The researchers inserted images into the artificial intelligence system to train and test their performance. The algorithm identified 36 variables in the judgment, of which 24 were inserted into the system architecture.

During the first set-up phase, the system showed a 76% accuracy rate. The team has shown that human evaluation has a lower accuracy rate than artificial intelligence. 76% also refers only to the first phase and can be improved as data increases.

The next step will be to develop a correspondent for the evaluation of human embryos. The algorithm could someday replace part of human donation in the IVF, ensuring mathematically better results. Stress, experience and fatigue are factors that have a heavy impact on the performance of human beings.

Source: eshre.eu

Pregnant women with a severe case of herpes behind transmit their antibodies to the baby. The body keeps virus protection active and transfers it to the nervous system of the fetus. This protects him against similar infections, which could have serious consequences on brain development.

The discovery comes from Dartmouth College's Geisel School of Medicine. The researchers analyzed both human samples and animal models. Analyzes have revealed that antibodies against Type 1 Herpes Virus (HSV-1) are transmitted from mother to child. This prevents the baby from getting infected during delivery. The effects also extend to the first few months of life, protecting the neonatal nervous system.

The children of pregnant mothers have 50% of the chance of infecting the baby. Herpes transmission occurs during the part has consequences that go far beyond the plagues on the skin. In fact, herpes also causes eye infections and encephalitis. Perinatal infection often leads to brain damage, even very serious, if not even death.

Laboratory experiments have detected antibodies against HSV-1 well after extinction of the infection. The antibodies present in the nerve cell lines can cross the placenta and settle into the fetal ones. In this way the newborn is protected against the herpes virus and the like.
Attempts to process a herpes vaccine for adults have for now failed. However, these same vaccines could prevent transmission from mother to child.

However, further tests will be required.

Source: asm.org
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It has been on the market for more than 50 years, it has a tremendous cost and is as effective as the hormones used today. It's clomiphene, a drug used to stimulate the ovaries and not hormones. The news comes from Dr Noor Danhof in Amsterdam. Along with his team he compared hormone therapy and clomiphene therapy. He has thus discovered that clomiphene is as effective as hormones and less expensive.

Ovarian stimulation with intrauterine insemination is one of the main approaches in case of unexplained infertility. The number of primary follicles increases, so that fertilization is easier. However, the procedure increases the chances of multiple pregnancies, with all the risks involved. That is why the researchers are looking for a way to stimulate the ovaries by limiting the multi-lingual parts.

Routine treatment for ovarian stimulation involves daily injection of follicle-stimulating hormone, FSH. The alternative is a shorter cycle of clomiphene, to be taken orally. Doctors disagree on what is the best option. The Dutch researchers then compared the two treatments. The results did not reveal statistically significant differences.

The researchers followed couples from 24 fertility centers, suffering from unexplained male infertility. They treated 369 women with FSH and other 369 with clomiphene. They then proceeded with intrauterine insemination. The results showed a 31% success rate in the first group and 26% in the second group. In the first group, little more than 1% of women had multiple pregnancies, compared to 2% of the second group. According to the authors of the study, the difference is present but not statistically relevant.

Dr. Noor Danhof says that stimulation with clomiphene is as effective as hormone, only at a lower cost. While an FSH cycle costs 200 euros, one of clomiphene costs 5. Clomiphene is also taken orally, while hormones are injected with all the problems that result.

Source: medicalxpress.com